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Netflix Cuts Second Deal with a Cable Operator, Eyes U.S. Pacts

Swedish cable operator Com Hem plans to offer subscription service in December via TiVo DVRs

Netflix has struck another deal to bring its streaming-video service to cable subscribers — with Swedish cable company Com Hem — and says it wants to reach similar deals in the United States.

Com Hem, the largest cable operator in Sweden, announced Wednesday that it has signed an agreement with Netflix to bring the service to subscribers with TiVo service starting in December. That follows Netflix’s agreement with Virgin Media in the U.K., which initially is testing the service with a test group of 40,000 subs before offering it to all 1.7 million who have a TiVo box.

Netflix chief financial officer David Wells said at Goldman Sachs’ Communacopia investment conference in New York that the company is open to deals with U.S. pay TV providers, but hasn’t reached any agreements in the States thus far.

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“It’s up to the MVPDs (multichannel video programming distributors) to decide how much of a competitor we are or a complement,” Wells said.

As of the end of the second quarter, Com Hem had 605,700 digital TV subscribers. The cable operator on Oct. 7 will launch its TiVo service, featuring a 1-terabyte hard drive and three tuners. Since May, 45,000 Com Hem customers have registered their interest in the TiVo service.

The Netflix app on Com Hem’s TiVo service will let cable customers watch original series including “House of Cards,” “Hemlock Grove,” “Arrested Development” and “Orange is the New Black” as well as docus, children’s programs and other content.

“We are very pleased to offer Netflix in our TiVo service and thus make their premium range (of content) available to our customers,” Com Hem product development director Asanga Gunatillaka said in a statement. “The collaboration also demonstrates the great benefits of TiVo as a platform for home entertainment. With our TiVo service, we collect the best content on the market and make it both accessible and searchable at the same place.”

Com Hem’s TiVo service will cost between 149 and 439 kronor per month (roughly between $23 and $68), depending package. Netflix service in Sweden is 79 kronor per month, or $12.31.